There's a lot going on in the area between your navel and your privates, and as a result, many different things can cause pain there. In one study, 20% of the participants (who were women between ages 30 and 64) reported experiencing pain in their pelvic region, a general term for the lower abdominal area. And pinpointing the cause of the ouch and finding the right treatment can be difficult.
Endometriosis is a prime example: An estimated 10% of women suffer from the painful condition, yet it takes an average of eight to 12 years to receive that diagnosis.
Why is pelvic pain so mysterious? Your bladder, parts of your intestine and your rectum all sit in your pelvic cavity, in addition to reproductive organs and various muscles, points out Kiarra King, M.D., a board-certified ob/gyn in Chicago. Any of these could be the site of the pain, and some causes can't be seen on imaging or in lab work. That's why "patients have to be their own best advocates when it comes to pelvic pain," says Sherry Ross, M.D., an ob/gyn and the author of She-ology.
The symptoms here are some of the most common among women. Let your doctor know if you experience any so they can diagnose (and treat) the condition causing your discomfort. If your reproductive organs check out, see a gastroenterologist, a urologist or another specialist, suggests Dr. King, so you can keep sleuthing until you get the relief you need.
Pain while peeing
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Can Anything Really Firm Your Face? - Countless complexion brands tout skin-tightening solutions like firming skincare products, at-home devices and professional treatments
Countless complexion brands tout skin-tightening solutions like firming skincare products, at-home devices and professional treatments. Here, our experts get real about whether these techniques can actually help skin bounce back once it starts to go lax. Sagging skin is caused primarily by the loss of collagen and elastin (proteins that give skin structural support and elasticity) with age, says Mamina Turegano, M.D., a dermatologist at Sanova Dermatology in New Orleans. And there's no shortage of potions proclaiming to counteract it with firming and lifting effects. Most commonly in serum and moisturizer form, these products contain ingredients like peptides, retinol, vitamin C, growth factors and niacinamide that purport to stimulate collagen production or ones that plump skin, such as hyaluronic acid.
The Stress-Busting Hack That's Right Under Your Nose- Breathwork is more than the wellness trend du jour- it's a science-backed route to relief from multiple modern ailments.
“OK, OK, just take a breath.” If that’s what a friend advises after you panic-share about a major-anxiety-inducing situation — your teen taking his maiden solo voyage behind the wheel, work instability, another high-stakes world crisis dinging your phone every few minutes — it’s probably because they hate seeing you so on edge. But also, your friend is offering an effective means of slowing your spin. “The way you breathe affects anxiety, and anxiety affects how you breathe,” says James Nestor, author of Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. “It’s a two-way street, and while anxiety isn’t a conscious choice, our breathing is.”
Do Men Really Not See The Mess? - The answer might surprise you. Journalist and author Gemma Hartley pulls back the curtain to reveal the invisible forces that drive this all-too-common cause of marital strife.
There was a time, earlier in my marriage, when every morning as I walked into the kitchen I braced myself for the rage and resentment that would well up in me.Cupboards left open. Dirty dishes in the sink. Coffee cups strewn around the house. And usually a pair of slippers or shoes, with inside-out socks, on the floor somewhere nearby. Even when I had left the house spotless the night before, I’d wake to a scene of disarray — the mess my husband had left behind on his way out the door for work.I didn’t know which scenario seemed worse, my husband’s consciously expecting me to clean up these messes or his truly not noticing them at all. I found myself silently tallying these small resentments, furious and flummoxed in turn that he seemed oblivious to things that needed to be tidied up around the house. It seemed as if he was always waiting for me to tell him what had to be done, as if he was incapable of noticing the mess himself even when he was creating it.
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At-Home Devices
In this burgeoning category of DIY skin tools, technologies like microcurrent (low-level electrical current), radiofrequency (lowfrequency electromagnetic waves), lasers (pulsating light) and LED light aim to stimulate muscles or collagen production to firm and tighten.
